Jerusalem 2012 - the state of things

Recent figures about the city published by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies.

Runners in Jerusalem 521.
(photo credit:Marc Israel Sellem)

Every year on Jerusalem Day, the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies (JIIS)
publishes the latest figures about the city. The most recent figures relate to
the findings at the end of 2010.

Here are some examples.

By the
end of 2010, Jerusalem’s population was 789,000 residents: 504,000 of them Jews
(64%) and 285,000 Arabs (36%.). In terms of religion, 492,000 were Jewish (62%);
273,000 Muslim (35%); and 15,000 Christian (2%).

During 2010, Jerusalem’s
population increased by 2.1% (1.4% in the Jewish and 3.3% among Arabs). Since
1967, the population of the city has grown by 196%: Jews 155% and Arabs 315%
.

The youngest secular Jewish residents live in Har Homa (average age
22); Givat Mordechai (24); and French Hill (27), while the oldest live in Kiryat
Wolfson (66); Nayot and Neveh Sha’anan (45); and Talbiyeh (43). The youngest
religious residents live in Kiryat Kaminitz (16); Ramat Shlomo and Mea She’arim
(16), and the oldest are in Sha’arei Hesed (25) and Har Nof (21).

During
2010, some 11,250 people moved to Jerusalem, while 18,600 locals left the
city.

During the last decade, about one-half of the residents (53%) who
chose to leave Jerusalem moved to cities and towns in the Jerusalem area. That
year, 680 Tel Aviv residents moved to Jerusalem; 660 moved here from Bnei Brak;
500 from Beit Shemesh; and 440 from Ma’aleh Adumim. Among those who left
Jerusalem, as well as those who moved here, the majority were aged 20 to
34.

During 2010, the birth rate among Jews in Jerusalem was 4.2% compared
to 3.9% for Arabs.

In the past few years there has been a steady increase
in the birth rate among Jews and a drop in the birth rate among Arab women.
Altogether, 22,400 babies were born in the city during 2010: some 14,100 to
Jewish parents and 8,300 to Arab parents. In the city there are 7,900
single-parent families.

Some 83% of Jerusalem residents say they are
satisfied with their place of work, compared to 86% in the country as a whole
and 88% in Tel Aviv. Jerusalemites feel more secure in regard to their
employment (58%) compared to Tel Aviv residents (51%.). Residents of the capital
are more satisfied with their income (59%) than Tel Aviv residents
(57%).

In general, residents of Jerusalem are satisfied with their life
here (89%), while 86% of Tel Aviv residents feel the same way.

There are
far more religious and haredi residents in Jerusalem than in the rest of the
country.

Secular Jews represent 19% of the
population in Jerusalem, compared to 59% in Tel Aviv, 58% in Haifa and 47% in
Rishon Lezion. Some 60% of non-Jewish residents of the city described themselves
as religious; 21% as not so religious; and 5% as non-religious. In the country
in general, the numbers are 46%, 26% and 21%, respectively.

In regard to
tourism, Jerusalem obtained 18% of the total income for hotels in the country,
with NIS 1.6 million, mostly from hotels in west Jerusalem (90%) but still less
than Tel Aviv, where the total income from hotels was NIS 1.7m.

The
number of tourists who spent at least one night in Jerusalem during their stay
in the country was 1,336,400. Some 71% of them were visitors from abroad and 29%
were Israelis. American tourists who visited the city and stayed here overnight
represent 45% (25% in Tel Aviv).

Europeans spent fewer nights in the Holy
City, with 40% of the total number of nights spent by tourists here, compared to
45% in Tel Aviv and 41% in Haifa. Generally speaking, tourists still spend a
short time in Jerusalem (in regard to hotel stays), and that figure hasn’t
changed since 2007: 3.3 nights for foreign tourists and 1.8 nights for Israeli
visitors.

In regard to property tax, the neighborhood in which the
reduction on that tax is the highest is east Neveh Ya’acov (54%), Mea She’arim
(53%) and the Bukharan Quarter (50%). The lowest reductions is in Kfar David
(6%) and Yemin Moshe and the villa zone in Ramot (11%). In the Arab
neighborhoods, the reduction on the tax runs between 17% (the Armenian Quarter)
and 43% (Issawiyeh.) •

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